Messy Love

Worry consumes me. It comes, stays, and knows it is not welcome here. It consumes my every thought and action. I say leave. It says absolutely not. It makes me numb. Yes, I feel numb. What is there to worry about, you ask. Only everything. College, scholarships, money, friends, and the future. . .

Yea, I know, God has EVERYTHING under control. Like I said I know, but do I believe? Do I trust him? And by not trusting, it shows my selfishness. And before God has it under control, shouldn't I give him complete authority over that EVERYTHING? Shouldn't I hand all that stuff to him. And by not handing everything over, it shows God I think I can handle it better than he can. How can I give it all over to a God that I have fallen out of love with? How can I trust a God I don't even know anymore?

And before I forget, I need to make it completely clear that it's not anyones fault but my own. God is still here. He is still chasing and pursuing and wooing. And once again I'm in the same place. Being ignorant. Wow, you're chasing me? I didn't notice because I'm too consumed with my worry. Wow, you love me? How? I do absolutely nothing for you. I'm too screwed up for you to love. And there you stand with your arms wide open... Again.

Why? Why would you still want me when all I do is run from you? I don't understand. And you still love me and call me beloved, a name I do not deserve. I don't deserve your love, but you still lavish it on me. And still you say, "beloved, you are ALWAYS mine."

I'm so thankful for your messy love. Your incredibly messy love. This love is so not clean cut, not cookie-cutter. It is indescribable, uncomprehendable, and UNCONDITIONAL. No matter how bad I screw up, how many times I ignore you, how many times I pretend to know you, you still LOVE me. Of all people me? Really? I don't get it.

Im ready god. I'm so ready to fall back in love. I'm ready to be changed. I'm ready to really KNOW you, and stop acting like I do. Im ready to fall for you Again. I'm ready for a fresh start. And thankfully you are standing there, ready and willing.

Thankfully, not matter how I want things to go, they go your way. And thankfully, you know what's best for me much better than I do.

Thankfully, no matter how selfish I am, I will NEVER leave your hand.

Thankfully, your love is messy.

Dreaming...

I love to dream. I just love it. I dream about all of the great things that lie ahead of me. Sometimes, I can get incredibly overwhelmed, but even so I love to dream. One of my dreams is to become a children's or youth minister someday, and to some that may sound like a simple dream, but that's one of my biggest dreams. I can't even describe how working with the kids and younger youth at our church makes me feel. To say the least, it makes me feel at home. It makes me feel right. I know that being with the kids is somewhere God has called me to be, and stay for the rest of my life. And that calling makes me so excited about my future! Just the fact that my dream aligns with God's calling for me is incredible. When I tell people this dream I have (or when people ask me what do you want to be when you "grow up") and I say I want to go into Youth Ministry and say I want to go to college for that, I get some crazy looks and comments. Things like "You're not going to make any money doing that", "I'm glad you can deal with kids because I sure couldn't",and "I wouldn't go to college for that. I would get a degree in something else just as a fallback plan, in case it doesn't work out." But just some news for the people who say that: 1) I would rather be happy with, LOVE, and be passionate about what I'm doing than have money. 2) I know this is God's calling for me, so I fully trust that if I do what he says that he will provide. 3) Once again, I fully believe this is what God wants me to do, therefore, he will take care of me so I think it would be a little "untrusting" of me to have a fallback plan. 4) I'm going to do what I know GOD wants me to do even with your advice. So sorry. But I just want to tell my one reader, if that, that if you have a dream (however big or small) GO FOR IT! People will try to discourage you from doing what you want and what God wants, but do what you'll be happy with. I went to Nashville this last week, and went to see the college I'm thinking about going to. I LOVED it. Seeing the place I could quite possible be in a couple of years really renewed my hope in my dream. And I know that probably makes no sense to anyone, but God really showed me that this dream of mine is supposed to be what I'm pursuing, and to do anything in my power (and of course a whole lot of His) to achieve it. He also showed me to not let myself get discouraged with all the negative comments around me. That all that matter is it's what He wants me to do. So I'm going to do it. Hope you guys dream big!

New Years Resolutions.....

Well I was going to list out all of my supposed resolutions... key word: supposed, but I don't think I am anymore because I only have one resolution. Me and one of my good friends sat down to eat before going to see Avatar (which was amazing by the way) and we started talking about New Years resolutions. She told me her one and I began naming off a whole list of them, and at the end, after saying all of them, I looked at her and said I really don't know... My list: (everyone's normal list) Lose a little weight, be more adventurous, actually try at school, yada yada yada.... Well I got home and got in the bathtub (which is where I do my best thinking) and I thought about what my New Years Resolution could be. I wanted it to be something good, and something I need to do... So I text my friend and said, "I got it! I know what my new years resolution is going to be!" She text back, "What?" and this is exactly what I put, "to NEVER take my eyes off of God, to focus on Him and His will for me above everything else, and allow him to be MY god... The God of every detail in my life. The end." And that is it. That is my one resolution. I think that one resolution will make 2010 a great year and one to remember. 2010 will be a year of big decisions for me. I'll have to start applying to colleges(scary) and figure out exactly what I want to do. I know I want to move off somewhere. I just don't know exactly where. And honestly that scares me to death, the not knowing part. I just wish God would drop a list out of the sky saying you are going to college here, and you need to get this degree, and have everything mapped out for me... But it's not happening... And where would the fun be in that. But I know God will lead me exactly where I need to be... I'm extremely excited about this new year and I hope you are too! I think it will be a year of new beginnings, at least I hope so. And I leave you with this:

Philippians 3:13-14
:No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven"

Let's look forward to what lies ahead this next year! This will be the last blog of 2009! So Happy New Years to everyone! :)

Your love is a remedy...

Your love is a remedy....


I got the new Switchfoot cd, Hello Hurricane, and it's surprisingly really good. (No offense to any Switchfoot fans) But I really like it, and my favorite song on that CD is most definitely Your Love Is a Song, so while I was listening to it I really started to listen to the lyrics. Two Words: SIMPLY AMAZING. Check 'em out:

"Your love is a symphony
all around me, running through me
Your love is a melody
underneath me, running to me

Your love is a song
Your love is my remedy
Your love is a song"

Some quick thoughts: (I promise I'll "attempt" to keep this one short.)
I'm so thankful I have a Savior who loves me THAT much, whose love surrounds me everywhere I am, even in my weak times. I am extremely thankful that His love is constantly running to me... yeah, if I was it, I would probably run away from me. (That's scary to think about, haha.) His love is always overwhelming to me. He amazes me by constantly revealing new aspects of His love for me. It makes me smile just thinking about it. Wow! But as I was listening to it, one line kept playing over and over in my head.... Your love is my remedy. His love is MY remedy... definition of remedy:
1. something that cures or relieves a disease or bodily disorder; a healing medicine, application, or treatment.
2. something that corrects or removes an evil of any kind.
His love heals me on a constant and consistent basis. It relieves me, and removes "evil". His love is what keeps me sane. His love lives inside of me, and do I do a good job of showing it's indescribable and unconditional nature to others? Absolutely Not! But I'm thankful for a God who loves me that much nonetheless. I'm thankful for a God whose love is indescribable, over reaching the realms of our minds and our descriptions by far. Just a thought! :) Thanks for reading! Hope everyone had a GREAT thanksgiving!

I Haven't Seen the Stars Lately

I haven't seen the stars lately. Not because they aren't there, but because I haven't taken the time to look. My life just seems to be moving faster and faster, when I really would love for it just to slow down. I was thinking last night about how much I love the stars.. I mean I absolutely love them. They're my favorite, yet I haven't taken the time to look at them. I haven't even paid attention to something I hold so dear just because I've been busy. That sounds like a horrible excuse to me. Well that just about describes my life lately. I haven't been paying attention to the things I love. And I'm just going to be honest, I haven't spent much time with my God lately. I used to LOVE to have my nightly talks with him, and to learn more and more about him everyday. I used to feel smitten when I would learn something new and exciting about Him that I didn't know. My date with God used to be my favorite part of the day. First, School started... and that led to homework. And then I started working more, and then I started going to devotions of some sort on almost every week night.. And when I got home I would just do my homework and go to bed. I thought that the devotions would make up for my personal time with God, and it didn't. Just like looking at a picture of the stars doesn't fulfill my desire to look at the stars. It's so different. I have discovered I need my one on one time. I have started having my dates with God again and let me tell you, There's nothing like it. Nothing can take the place of that time for me. I missed it so much. I also missed this, a lot, a whole lot. I miss blogging. I just haven't had time, or at least I tell myself that to make me feel better. Well, I'm just glad I can do this now, and get back into it. But I am starting this up again. I shall soon have some guest bloggers, and let me tell you they're good, very awesome. Some amazing friends of mine. Oh, and I wrote a guest blog for Jake Branham's The Journey Blog. Check it out, TheJourneyBlogs.blogspot.com. But anyways all this to say, Maybe I'm back into the swing of things. I hope so. Well leave some comments! :) Thanks for reading!! I love you guys.

LiveWithPassion :)